Movie review: Footnote’ has a good setup but falters

In this Oscar-nominated dramedy from Israel, a father and son, both professors in Talmudic studies, indulge their bitter rivalry after one of them wins a coveted award.

Al Alexander

Outside of its native Israel, where it won the equivalent of nine Oscars, the well-intentioned family dramedy “Footnote” is likely to be just that – a footnote. While Hebrew scholars may dig Joseph Cedar’s tale of a father and son engaging in a passive-aggressive tumult over whose studies of the Talmud is more relevant, most Americans, I fear, will merely shrug their shoulders and yawn.

It’s not that “Footnote” is a bad film; it’s just not a very interesting one. For one thing, it moves too slowly and drags on too long for a story so basic in its observations about love, loyalty and sacrifice and how they relate to the bitterness and jealousy harbored by a father toward his son. But my main problem with the thing is that after setting up a fascinating dilemma (spoiler alert) in which an award earmarked for the son is mistakenly presented to the father, “Footnote” does little with it beyond making the child a martyr and the patriarch a self-righteous prig.

Such one-note characterizations inevitably wear out their welcome. And while it takes a long time for “Footnote” to reach that point, when it does, all the air comes rushing out. That’s particularly true of the final 15 minutes, when Cedar foregoes dialogue and characterizations to dive fully into the surreal, a la such other “nutty professor” flicks as “A Beautiful Mind” and “Proof.” Some may find Cedar’s style of esoteric filmmaking to be the bomb, but I found it frustrating and pretentious. You also feel gypped, because “Footnote” starts out with such promise, as we’re introduced to Eliezer Shkolnik (Shlomo Bar Aba) and his son, Uriel (Lior Ashkenazi). Both are Talmud professors at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University. But that’s where the similarities end. Where the younger Shkolnik is open, friendly and gregarious, his father is sullen, if not downright rancorous. Eliezer is also a purest in his mission to correctly translate the various texts of the Talmud, while Uriel is more concerned with making a name for himself; a mission he’s pretty much succeeded in at the film’s opening, when he’s accepting membership in the prestigious Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. While we listen to him deliver his acceptance speech off camera, Cedar keeps his camera trained directly on Eliezer, who silently seethes with jealousy over his son’s acceptance to a society that always treated the elder man with distain.

In one of Cedar’s many other clever techniques, he briefly presents the back stories of both men through telling flashbacks that clearly define Eliezer’s bitterness and Uriel’s compulsion to avoid repeating his father’s mistakes. Namely, his father’s perceived anti-social behavior, which may be rooted in his failure to be recognized by any of his peers. In fact, the only kudos he’s ever received came from his mentor, who once passingly mentioned Eliezer’s tireless work in a footnote.

Eliezer’s mood takes a decidedly upward trajectory (or at least comparatively speaking) once word arrives that he will be presented his nation’s highest honor for a scientist, the Israel Award. Only problem is that the sponsors of the prize called the wrong guy; they meant to call his son, the real winner.

When the mistake is finally brought to Uriel’s attention, Cedar delivers the best, and funniest, scene in the movie, as the younger Shkolnik squeezes into the nominating committee’s extremely tight boardroom to learn how the error was made. This is also when the wonderfully expressive Ashkenazi is at the top of his game, as you watch his expressions oscillate between an unsettling blend of pride over knowing he is the actual recipient and utter gloom knowing that if he indeed claims the prize, it will kill any ounce of life his father has left in him.

It’s fun, for a while, watching Uriel do battle with his conscience in scenes juxtaposed with Eliezer’s muted elation over finally being touted for a life’s work that often came at the expense of his friends and family. But the film, which received a best foreign language nomination at last month’s Oscars, commences crumbling down the stretch, as Cedar begins to belabor his points about sacrifice and pride, while denying the father and son from making any real connection. It didn’t necessarily need to be a happy ending, like Hollywood no doubt would have demanded, but to deny us any sort of resolution ultimately leaves you feeling cheated. It’s almost as if Cedar thinks of us as nothing more than a footnote – if not a gullible cash cow.

FOOTNOTE (PG for for thematic elements, brief nudity, language and smoking.) Cast includes Shlomo In Hebrew with English subtitles. 2.5 stars out of 4.

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